Isn't this the American way? Tell them when, where, how, give them weeks to prepare and hide assets, and tell them up front "we're just going to shoot across the bow." Great strategy! I'm so glad we're not relying on the US to protect us!

Nothing changed there.

Here is how one blogger put it: THE SNAKE SLITHERS AND SLINKS AWAY President Obama is many things, brave is not among them. Put Obama and warrior in a sentence together and you are sure to get a chuckle. So is this any surprise? He is unprincipled, weak and cowardly. You can't "lead from behind" when no one is in front of you (or the side for that matter.)

Be prepared

How about..."Obama's indecision..."

israel was not prepared for hezbollah sneak attack. tzahal had been neglected and ill led. such a situation cannot be allowed to be repeated. assad is not very bright. he and his brother are hot heads. iran is not as rational as people say. these den of devils are capable of another miscalculation.

The Congress will not be bypassed and Obama will not expose the Democratic party to criticism in 2016. The American public opinion is against attacking Syria, which matters a lot to Obama also. From my observation spot, it looks 60-40 the U.S. will NOT attack Syria as punishment for the gas attack.

Mr Shai. Looks for the goodness.

It it not like the use of chemical weapons was not foreshadowed, it is not like there were no incidents before. There are such a things called scenario planning, critical paths, etc. Could you seriously believe that the idea of going to congress has just come up in his mind and was not either premeditated or at minimum a serious option - and if that is the case why was it not planned for - e.g. pre-approval in case of chemical act, or agreement with both house leaders on quick time frame and process re approval, etc, etc. If he did not plan for these simple contingencies what does it tell you about the executive foresight and responsibility of this man. The red line was red - then it has gone pink when 'we are not sure', then we know but it is going pink by the minute, etc, etc.

israel cannot count on the united states. such has been always the case. with obama as president, israel will have to make her own decisions. obama is weak, indecisive and confused.

You were caught with your pants down..don't ever let that happen again. Israel must always be on guard. God bless our soldiers.

It's being reported that Syria has 'mapped' its targets on Israeli soil. Dimona nuclear plant among other petroleum and chemical plants around Haifa will allegedly be targeted. G-d forbid they succeed - the gas masks will prove to be absolutely useless.

been "reporting" from all over the country, as if the attack could happen any minute and the morons were lining up (and bashing each other) in lines for useless gas masks. Oy, what a disappointment. Yes, life can be cruel ....Even the Judeo-Quislings from Meretz seem unhappy about this development. Go figure.

The Russian Bear has made the American Eagle into the laughing stock of the world! The vodka must be flowing like water in the Kremlin. The traditional "God Bless America" should be changed, thanks to Obama AND the American people who seem to have returned to the days of isolationism, to "God Help America". The "Free World" just became a lot less "Free" and it will not long for Putin to re-introduce the Gulags and worse for those who oppose him and want freedom. The Gay persecution was a test and has proven that no one will stand up to him and the next will be the Jews and the "dissidents".

Why should Israel 'count' on United States?? Israel is a sovereign state and should act like one. United States is not responsible for Israel, not does it owe anything to Israel. Why does Israel feel so entitled and expects United States to always fight for and protect it? I am an Israeli and I really do not understand this concept. We have our own government and our our military.

Surely nothing could ever be more clear to Netanyahu that Israel can only look to itself for defense especially over Iran.

...just do it yourself. Obama has no backing of US citizens or his allies for the mission. You have your own army, so why don't you attack Syria? You are not spineless cowards or are you? What are you afraid off? ... Yes, I know, it is not so simple, so stop blaming Obama when there is nothing he can do.

Wow, shame on our president for listening to the people who've elected him. Majority of Americans are against the intervention in Syria so we should be proud of our president for doing his job - being president of the United States of America, not Syria or Israel.

Oh, we can take out Syria. Lebanon, too. I assure you that the last thing that Assad -- and Nasrallah -- want is a confrontation with Israel. They know all too well what the outcome will be. So no missiles will fall in Israel without a mad scramble by both Syria and Hezbollah to deny responsibility. Israel is not the target of Syrian WMDs either. Assad saw what happened when he attempted to transfer game-changing weapons to Hezbollah. And that was just a tiny taste of the force that Israel can bring to bear. Israel IS a game-changing weapon. The ones who need to worry about attacks using chemical, neurological and biological weapons are the United States and the European Union. Why should Israel clean up a European- and American-made mess? And even if we did bail your asses out -- yet again -- who will screech the loudest? The EU. Coming soon to a theatre near you: sarin, botulin toxin and smallpox. Don't count on Israel to bail you out this time. Europe long ago outlived its usefulness. Good riddance to stinking rubbish. Over a thousand years of richly-deserved payback. How do you like us now, baby? HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW?

The politicians were sold a story, that if you give the Arabs a win you will have peace. Same thing happening today. If you listen to peace loving people you will be caught with your pants down. Golda, Rabin, Peres, and Sharon did it now BB is buying it with his lovely Livni on his side . God help us

Have you forgotten the 2006 Lebanon War when Bush, Rice, Blair, Beckett and the EU FORCED Israel into a cease fire because we "might upset the Arab world"? The world now knows that the "West" will allow Russia to do whatever it likes and you should never forget that twice the USA only pulled Europe out of the crap in two world war because they were attacked! Israel knows very well that when it comes to our survival we are on our own but the last time I heard Obama, Cameron and Hollande, it wasn't about Israel's survival it was about stopping the massacre of men, women and CHILDREN in Syria by Assad with Russian and Chinese support! We also are very well aware that no matter who rules in Syria, that country will always do everything in its power to destroy Israel, but we put human lives above all and when we see dead and injured children, even though are taught to hate us, we cannot feel anything but horror. With people like you we are between the rock and the hard place. You say "we are spineless cowards" and if we do attack Syria, you will accuse Israel of being the aggressor against the Arabs so you can appease that have taken over in the EU! As for Obama, well, he drew the Red Line and very conveniently erased it! Maybe he should have asked Congress and the American people for permission to by a red pen before opening his mouth!

That, we can be almost sure about. Arab govs only attack their own people, not the enemy, duh

Obama is right to be cautious. Iraq was a successful PR excercise and a failed war. Syria could be next. It's one thing to flex muscles against an opponent, another to later give effective rule. The Iraq war failed to have a follow up plan that fully took into account local poilitics, and created a greater mess than existed while Hussein was in power. In this instance I agree with Ban about giving seeking a political solution prior to military action. There needs to be 3 distinct goals to achive. 1) Eradicate WMD 2) Creation of a sensible coalition government that protects all interests, including Alawite and 3) Erdaicating the foothold terrorists like Al Quaida and Hitzbullah have in the region. Achieving those goals will involve counter insurgency tactics, but something more effective than Obama's declared 'warning shot across the bow' whatever that means? Regardless, there also needs to be an effective Plan B should congress vote against the currect war proposal. Meanwhile, all the wrong signals are going out right now.

Are they prepared too?

Gadol Hador to be sure to take the right decision. And be100% ready to all events. Forget about Obama. Jewish people help them self and trust in G-D.

As usual, those of you who live south of the border talk nonsense. Make alliyah.

I didn't say that you are spineless. Some of the writers blamed that Obama is spineless. I just wondered what is the difference between Israel who don't want to attack Syria and US who don't want to attack Syria? And please don't compare Syria to Lebanon. In Lebanon you fought against Hezbollah, that could only run and shoot missiles. In Syria there is an army against you and the size of the land is nearly 20 times larger than Lebanon and 10 times larger than Israel. You have no manpower to fight a war like it alone, and do you really believe that US or anyone else would come to help you, if you attack first? There is nothing US or Israel can do about Syria right now. There must be larger coalition and UN backing before any military solution. Let UN inspectors do their job and then we can decide together what to do. It's not so black and white.